Royko worked for a number of Chicago papers before joining the Chicago Tribune staff, where since 1984 he wrote a column that became syndicated nationwide. He was an admired though sometimes controversial commentator on local and national issues, always concerned with the plight of working-class people. His awards include a Pulitzer Prize (1972), The National Press Club Lifetime Achievement Award (1990), and the Damon Runyon Award (1995). Royko wrote an unauthorized biography of Mayor Richard J. Daley (Boss, 1971) and published collections of his own writings.